Systems and methods for determining safe and unsafe zones in a workspace—where safe actions are calculated in real time based on all relevant objects (e.g., some observed by sensors and others computationally generated based on analysis of the sensed workspace) and on the current state of the machinery (e.g., a robot) in the workspace—may utilize a variety of workspace-monitoring approaches as well as dynamic modeling of the robot geometry. The future trajectory of the robot(s) and/or the human(s) may be forecast using, e.g., a model of human movement and other forms of control. Modeling and forecasting of the robot may, in some embodiments, make use of data provided by the robot controller that may or may not include safety guarantees.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal is colored illumination.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the condition is safety and different colors correspond to different safety levels.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the signal source is a plurality of lamps distributed about the workspace.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein the processor is configured to control directionalities and beam shapes of the lamps.
6. The system of claim 3, wherein the condition is safety and the workspace has a floor including a grid of illumination devices for selectively illuminating portions of the floor in colors corresponding to safety levels associated with volumetric regions extending upward from the floor portions.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the degrees of the condition appear in a virtual reality device.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal is audible.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the condition is safety and the audible signal has a varying amplitude and/or a frequency corresponding to a dynamically changing safety level as a human moves within the workspace.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor implements a safety protocol specifying a minimum separation distance between the machinery and a human, the degrees of the condition corresponding to different separation distances.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the workspace is computationally represented as a plurality of voxels.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the signal is colored illumination.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the condition is safety and different colors correspond to different safety levels.
15. The method of claim 13, wherein the signal is provided by a plurality of lamps distributed about the workspace.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein generating the signal comprises controlling directionalities and beam shapes of the lamps.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein (i) the workspace has a floor including a grid of illumination devices and (ii) generating the signal comprises selectively illuminating portions of the floor in colors corresponding to safety levels associated with volumetric regions extending upward from the floor portions.
18. The method of claim 13, wherein degrees of the condition appear in a virtual reality device.
19. The method of claim 12, wherein the workspace is computationally represented as a plurality of voxels.
20. The method of claim 12, wherein the signal is audible.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the condition is safety and the audible signal has a varying amplitude and/or a frequency corresponding to a dynamically changing safety level as a human moves within the workspace.
22. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of implementing a safety protocol specifying a minimum separation distance between the machinery and a human, the degrees of the condition corresponding to different separation distances.
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July 2, 2020
December 6, 2022
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